


Corduroy Dreams

by RunningThroughMe



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gil's going through some tough times and Anne is there for him, They're so thirsty for each other but Anne doesn't realise, also i think they're 16ish????? I'm really bad at ages, how does anyone do tags i don't understand, i think this is fluff?, this is my first fic ahhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 09:06:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16720416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunningThroughMe/pseuds/RunningThroughMe
Summary: Gilbert's been feeling lonely lately, and Anne is as always there to pull him out, even if the weather doesn't cooperate.





	Corduroy Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> So this is my first fic, inspired by the song Corduroy Dreams by Rex Orange County. I heard it and I just thought it fitted the characters perfectly. I'm not the best at writing, especially the soft, lovey dovey stuff, so any pointers would be much appreciated. Anyway, I hope you like it!

“You never pay attention to my dreams Gilbert! Tell me what I said I wanted to do at Redmond. Gilbert…. Gilbert!” Anne squawked, making no attempt to hide her annoyance at the dark haired boy who was currently sat before her, pulling tufts of grass out of the ground, with an unreadable expression that suggested he was deep in some intense thought; Anne huffed, she didn’t want to know what he was thinking, what was going on in that impossible head of his, she just wanted him to answer her. Although…  
no, she really didn’t need to know to carry on with her life as usual. But why did his seeming indifference to her both infuriate and intrigue Anne? He still hadn’t replied, it was getting ridiculous now.

“Gilbert! Did you even hear me?” Silence met her “I swear to God Gil, it’s like you’re ignoring me on purpose”

At this, Gilbert’s head shot up, his wide brown eyes meeting narrow, angry grey ones, and he realised what Anne had been saying. God, how could he let himself drift away into such lucid thoughts like that!

“I-I’m so sorry Anne. It was completely wrong of me to not listen to you, I-“

“So you admit you weren’t listening!” Anne scoffs.

“No! I mean- yes, I wasn’t listening just then, I got a bit too deep into my own thoughts, but- but I would never purposefully ignore you. Never.” 

The words tumbled out of his mouth, and he tried to put on his best smile to mask his innermost thoughts. The stream to their left glittered with tiny, silver fish, their gun metal scales reflecting the bright sunlight, a parallel to the bottomless grey eyes that bore into him at this precise moment, those of Anne’s. Their piercing gaze and the short conversation had momentarily brought him out of his dismal thoughts. The reprieve from them was short lived, and Gilbert’s joyful mask crumbled into a woeful expression. 

Anne didn’t notice, as she turned her back to him in an attempt to cool her reddened cheeks. Did Gilbert Blythe really just say that to her? It was in all senses wrong for him to do so, as he was neither her family or lover, but why did it feel so nice, so right? Anne shook her head, trying to keep her voice level,  
“Well, if that’s so true then answer my question, what are my Dreams?

She flung out her arms and span around, and on a regular day, Gilbert would be enraptured by her careless beauty, but today he barely even noticed what she was doing. As Anne slowed her spins she noticed Gilbert wasn’t smiling as he usually did. Was it her accusations that had upset him? Had she overstepped?

“Gilbert, what’s wrong?” Silence. “Was it something I said? Please Gil, answer me, you look so glum”

She moved to sit beside him, perhaps a little closer than she should have for propriety’s sake. But, as the sun began to cower behind the clouds, she told herself, she did it to stay warm, as she hadn’t brought a coat with her. And, she felt like Gilbert might have needed the support. She rested her eyes on his face, which was looking straight into the stream, a vacant, withdrawn expression. 

“I’m fine” he muttered.

“You’re clearly not” She retorted, wincing immediately at her harshness. Marilla would give her a scolding for being so rude.

“I promise you, I am,” Gil sighed deeply “I just have days where I feel low, and this is one of them, that’s all there is to it.”

“Well, something must have made you start feeling low.” Anne prodded, “Also, what kind of low? Is it stress from the entrance exams? Cause you really don’t need to worry about them, you’re the best in the class, and Miss Stacy says you’re definitely going to pass”

“It’s not that, although I am a bit stressed about them. I just feel really lonely sometimes, you know, without my Dad. I really miss him.”

“But what about Bash and Mary?”

“With them, im never physically lonely, and I love their company, but sometimes I feel like there’s something missing, even more so since they got married. It just feels like wherever I go, whatever I do, even if I’m at the centre of a crowded room, I’m always alone. It’s not a new feeling, I’ve mostly gotten used to it, but sometimes it’s worse than I can handle.” Though he ached to do so, Gilbert didn’t add that whenever Anne was around he usually forgot about this feeling, and when he was at least in the same room as her, he felt he could finally relax. She, for the most part, saved him from himself, usually by weaving a tale from her imaginative mind. But, today, her presence didn’t do much but dim the overwhelming feeling of loneliness he was so used to these days.

Gilbert sighed and laid back, his eyes scanning the darkening sky above. Anne copied his movements, and for a while, they lay there in silence, a thick veil of sadness laying over them.

“I’m sorry you feel like that Gil, I have down days too. Sometimes I feel like my life in Avonlea, Marilla, Matthew, all of my friends, are a dream, and all I can think of is the orphanage and those spiteful girls who used to make my life miserable. They used to tell me I’d never get married if I didn’t shut up, and even if I did my hair would prevent anyone from thinking I was beautiful. I guess they’re right, although it doesn’t half make me sad sometimes.” She chuckled to herself, even though her eyes were beginning to glisten with tears, and a lump in her throat threatened to form. Why did this have to happen to her all the time! She silently cursed her emotional mind. With a shaky voice, Anne added “ I guess knowing nobody will ever want to marry me makes me feel lonely sometimes, although I know others have it worse than I do.” Thinking about it later, it probably wasn’t the best thing to say to Gilbert, especially knowing what happened after what she said when his father had died. He stayed silent, still looking to the sky, but as Anne’s tears started to fall, he turned to her, brown eyes glassy, but wide and full of a concoction of surprise and sorrow.

“Anne, I’m so sorry that happened to you. I feel horrible that I’ve dragged you down into my despair today, and I apologise completely. I feel it’s best if I leave you until this spell is over, I don’t want to make you upset any more than I already have. Before you go though, I hope that one day you’ll understand that those girls at the orphanage were wrong. You are intelligent, caring, beautiful. I’m sure that any man would be lucky to have you as their wife, their equal” what he didn’t add, but most definitely thought, was that he would very much like to be that man.  
“You can’t expect me to just leave you like this, that’s ridiculous.” Anne exclaimed, trying to gloss over the fact that she was now as red as her fiery hair thanks to Gilbert’s words. Nobody, other than Matthew, Marilla, Cole or Diana had ever called her beautiful- but they had to, as her closest friends and family. But Gilbert had no such obligation, the most handsome boy in Avonlea, who could make a girl swoon with a simple, mischievous smile. It didn’t work on Anne, at least that’s what she told herself despite the swirling feeling in her stomach whenever their eyes met or their hands touched. He always put on an air of nonchalance, a carefree attitude that Anne sometimes wished she could have. Seeing him here, tears pricking his eyes, then silently rolling down his face, whilst he told her his thoughts, Anne saw that this nonchalance was a wall, one that was crumbling before her. 

“It’s really not, I’ve already caused you enough pain since I’ve met you, and anyway, it looks like its going to rain, so you should go, really”. He was right. Thick grey clouds chased the sun away, only remnants of clear weather squeezing through the stone blanket. It would rain soon, and it would rain hard. Anne looked up, collecting her thoughts so she could respond to his plea.

“Gilbert, you infuriate me sometimes. You know I’ve forgiven you for everything, even though it was never worse than what Billy Andrews or the girls from the Orphanage ever did. Anyway, I’ve grown to smile when I think of the word carrots, as the whole ordeal was awfully silly, don’t you think?” This gained a small chuckle from gilbert, whose tears were now freely flowing down his tanned face, as he thought she wasn’t looking. She, in fact, was looking, and without thinking softly brushed his tears away, making Gilbert freeze in shock. Before he could say anything, she ploughed on,

“ I’m not leaving you like this, as you’re my friend. I actually quite like the rain, it’s awfully romantical. I sometimes stay in the woods a little longer than I should on my walks home, just so I can admire the rain falling through the trees. I do get soaked though, I nearly ruined a dress once.”

Gilbert went to say something, but Anne shushed him, “ Before you go telling me off about this, rest assured Marilla’s already scolded me first. I know all the dangers, but it’s worth it every once in a while. I find it broadens my imagination, and most times inspires a new story.”  
“I don’t have much of an imagination though Anne.”

“Of course you do! Everyone has one, some just choose to ignore theirs for the sake of propriety and social norms. I almost did myself when I first came to Avonlea, after I was almost shunned by half the town. I’m so glad I had Diana and Matthew then, they helped me fit in whilst still staying as the same old Anne. You may have pushed down your imagination, but I know it’s in there Gil” 

Gil- this wasn’t the first time she’d called him that, but this time it was different. She said it with such tender care, soft as if she could break him with it, but proud enough of him to encourage him to at least try to dig himself out of his sadness. She said it with- although surely she couldn’t have- there’s no way she could feel that way towards him-but maybe, just maybe… love. Gilbert’s cheeks flushed.  
The grey giants that had lurked just before them had started to spit, and both of the teens welcomed it, drinking in the faint scent of petrichor that they were so used to.

“Use your imagination! What can you think of? Tell me a story!” Anne chirped, tiny crystals of rain fluttering off her eyelashes. She looked at Gilbert whilst he thought, pleased that he was no longer crying and smiling at least a little, those pink lips curving into a deliciously innocent smirk that made her stomach flip. She’d pushed it too far when she brushed his cheeks, and she couldn’t explain why she did it. It was a primal instinct, some kind of unseen force that seemed to pull her to him, no matter how hard she tried to pull away. Even slates couldn’t break their energy, even she knew that.

“Ok, I’ve got something Anne. I hope it’ll be up to your esteemed standards.” He quipped, gaining an eyeroll and a “Hmph” from Anne. Unconsciously, he shuffled a little closer to her as he began his story, enjoying the slight warmth he gained against the now heavy rain.  
“There once was a poor man, who lived in a village. He was nothing special, and only had his father to comfort him, so when his father died, he went on a quest to find both peace and some friends, I guess you could call them kindred spirits. So, uh, he goes and finds some, and makes good memories, but there’s still a hole in his heart. He comes back to his hometown to finally settle, knowing nothing could fill it, until he met her. Within seconds of meeting her, and he’d only met her for a few seconds, he was enraptured with her. She wasn’t your average girl, with their hair perfectly dine and only trying to get the attention of potential husbands. She was strong and smart and brave, all whilst being ethereal, and not even understanding how beautiful she was. Pale, smooth skin, covered in constellations of freckles, hard but kind stone eyes, shrouded in thick black lashes, and the most beautiful hair he had ever seen.” Gilbert looked at Anne now, whose eyes were focused solely on him, and he couldn’t make out if she was crying or it was the rain. He nervously swallowed and continued.

“It was the colour of autumn, as everchanging as the season’s leaves, a gorgeous copper that the man so wished to run his hands through and cherish. He knew, in that moment, when she smiled the brightest smile he had ever been given, she was the one to fill that void. The end. Sorry it wasn’t that great, I wasn’t really prepared, it’s nothing compared to your stories. We should really start going back, Marilla will be worri-”

He was silenced by her lips crashing into his, as whilst he was talking she’d shifted to sit facing him. For a moment, he froze, and she pulled back, water dripping off of loose strands of her hair, “Gilbert, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, you probably hate me now, how am I ever to live this do-”

It was her turn to be silenced now, by his soft lips gently brushing hers, cautious and polite, before quickly becoming deeper, hungry, forgetting about propriety completely as she responded much the same. She was lifted into his lap as he sat up, rain pouring around them, each huddling closer to each other for warmth and out of love. Warm bodies, lips melting, thoughts washed away. Gilberts teeth grazed Anne’s lower lip and she sighed, pushing harder against him, willing him to continue. Much to her dismay, he pulled back, catching his breath, hazel eyes blazing. He looked at her through dripping eyelashes, smirking his signature smirk, and she shivered under his gaze, suddenly remembering where she was and what she probably looked like. He chuckled to himself, and recaptured her lips for a few minutes more, rain showering still, but they didn’t care. They were together, as one now, nothing else mattered.

After what seemed like hours, when they were each pressed as close as they could be, Gilbert broke off, panting whilst Anne rested her forehead on his. 

“Well, Anne-Girl, you’ve certainly made me feel better. My imagination is running wild at this moment, it may even rival yours” Gilbert joked, a crooked smile covering his face.

“Stop it Gil, it’s already bad enough what we’re doing now. Imagine Mrs Lynde seeing us now! I’d die of embarrassment-”

“If Marilla hadn’t killed you first” 

This bought Gilbert a punch on the arm from the fiery girl before him, but he quickly grabbed her arm and rolled her to the floor, pinning her beneath him whilst she giggled and squirmed. They play fought like 5 year olds for a while, before realising the showers had stopped, and the sun was shining as if it knew. The way home was full of conversation, when to tell Marilla, when each other knew, why it took so long, amongst many things. For Anne it had felt like she’d awoken for the second time in her life, and had to keep squeezing Gil’s hand to reassure her it wasn’t a dream. For Gilbert, the void in his heart had been filled, and the constant state of loneliness had finally slipped from his shoulders. Hand in hand, they ambled down the lanes of Avonlea, imagining their futures together, feeling like it was all a dream.


End file.
